Abbey Zero charged Euro payment in £?

d00fus

Hi,

I've made a couple of bookings for hostels in Turkey in the last week, both of which were charged (according to the website and my email confirmation) in Euro. However, checking my online statement it seems to have classed it as a domestic payment charged in GBP:

14-Sep-2009
PURCHASE - DOMESTIC , HOSTELBOOKERS.COM , HIGH HOLBURN £14.32
10-Sep-2009
PURCHASE - DOMESTIC , HOSTELBOOKERS.COM , HIGH HOLBURN £5.53
The equivalent euro amounts are 15.60 and 6.00, so the exchange rate is poor (less than 1.09) whereas I'd expect something like 1.12 at the moment (given it's the Zero card).

It seems like the company has recognised the card as UK-issued and converted it to GBP without telling me before charging the card. Does it look like this has happened or am I getting the wrong end of the stick? Are they allowed to do this?

Thanks

NickX

d00fus wrote: »

It seems like the company has recognised the card as UK-issued and converted it to GBP without telling me before charging the card. Does it look like this has happened or am I getting the wrong end of the stick?

I agree with you. There is no mention of a Euro\GBP conversion on that statement.

It looks as though the retailer has charged in GBP rather than local currency. I believe they are supposed to give you both options, I would look closed at their small print to see if this is suggested. Alternatively Santander should be able to advise whether they actually converted the Euros to GBP or not.

dzug1

If by 'the company' you mean Hostelbookers, then yes, that's most likely. And no, they are not allowed to do it without offering the choice.

d00fus

Sorry yeah still stuck calling them Abbey! Yeah my next step will be to contact Santander, but it's such a nightmare I wanted to get some reassurance from here before I bother I definitely never selected to pay in GBP and my confirmation emails all say "Total paid: 15.60 EURO" etc so I think Hostelbookers have done a switcheroo behind the scenes.

exel1966

I'm not seeing a problem here. The hostels may well have been in Turkey, but HOSTELBOOKERS.COM are not (they're a British company) and have therefore charged you in GBP as they should.
I think it's just a case of the invoice showing the local currency rather than anything else because you did not select when booking for the amount to be shown in GBP.

This doesn't look like DCC (Dynamic Currency Coversion) to me.

d00fus

exel1966 wrote: »

I'm not seeing a problem here. The hostels may well have been in Turkey, but HOSTELBOOKERS.COM are not (they're a British company) and have therefore charged you in GBP as they should.
I think it's just a case of the invoice showing the local currency rather than anything else because you did not select when booking for the amount to be shown in GBP.

This doesn't look like DCC (Dynamic Currency Coversion) to me.

But surely I must be shown the rate at which the conversion will take place prior to making the purchase? The entire invoice is in euro, as was the payment page, and I didn't select to pay in GBP.

exel1966

You didn't select to pay in Euros. It's there as a guide only to show you an approximate conversion and not to pay in that currency.

NickX

exel1966 wrote: »

I'm not seeing a problem here. The hostels may well have been in Turkey, but HOSTELBOOKERS.COM are not (they're a British company) and have therefore charged you in GBP as they should.

If HOSTELBOOKERS.COM are indeed a UK based business, then this would appear to be the case and I would agree.

Sorry - I am far to old to do hostels, so can't comment

exel1966

HostelBookers.com Ltd.
High Holborn House
52-54 High Holborn
London
WC1V 6RL
United Kingdom

d00fus

exel1966 wrote: »

You didn't select to pay in Euros. It's there as a guide only to show you an approximate conversion and not to pay in that currency.

Ah I've found this in the small print on the actual booking page:

** The total that you pay will be charged in your currency at your bank’s current rate of exchange for British Pounds

So yes you're right, that would suggest they are always charging in GBP regardless. It's a different system to the other sites I've used that charge in the hotel's home currency unless you select otherwise. Good to know at least Thanks!

bengal-stripe

NickX wrote: »

It looks as though the retailer has charged in GBP rather than local currency. I believe they are supposed to give you both options.

The prices quoted in EURO are a conversion as well, as the EURO is not local currency in Turkey.